South County Homeless Task Force

11/01/2024

San Juan setting the bar. Let’s go South OC.

The City of San Juan Capistrano is set to purchase an almost 2-acre lot on Don Juan Avenue for just over $2 million with future plans to build affordable housing

10/23/2024

Great job Irvine. But let’s not forget the need for affordable housing. Without it a shelter will not solve a lot of housing instability issues.

City council members approved the purchase of two buildings in the Irvine Business Complex that are slated to be developed into a homeless shelter with medical care and case management services.

10/17/2024

10/12/2024

Something that is so common and unrecognized in people experiencing homelessness is that substance use is “treatment” for myriad conditions and that sobriety is not a panacea. Another reason why we oughtn’t judge people who use substances and why demands for sobriety to “earn” housing assistance miss the mark.

From a person in substance use recovery:

“In my experience, far too many persons who use substances had underlying mental health issues first... yet, not a single 'treatment' protocol addresses this topic first and foremost. Instead, the outdated belief is that by taking substance use away (abstinence), suddenly life's problems will be fixed. Speaking as a mental health professional and someone who’s struggled with being dysregulated my entire life - my substance use didn't change until I started to understand my own brain and body wiring. Turns out, I'm a women who didn't discover until my 50’s that I'm actually Autistic and need to accommodate for that in daily life or else I will suffer more. The world sure won't adapt for me so I had to build in individualized accommodations. For me, things like socializing to neuronormative people exhausts my resources, masking daily to function exhausts my resources, feeling the pain of the world exhausts my resources, changes in body temperature exhausts my resources, etc... and if my resources are exhausted, I go with the lowest hanging fruit to survive. So I've needed to significantly reduce my interactions with the world, lean into special interest more for nourishment and understand that my bandwidth is about 1/4 of what I've ever expected it to be. There's grief work in that that quite frankly substance use programs fail to address, discuss and/or accommodate for and it fails individuals and their families routinely as a result.”

10/09/2024

For people who think we can arrest our way out of drug using or that with incarceration “they’re at least safe”…

“Our loved ones are never safer in jail!
"According to the LA County Sheriff's Department, Narcan, a life-saving medication used to counteract the effects of the an opioid overdose, has been used on 195 people within the county's correctional and jail facilities over the past year. There were 12 overdose deaths in 2023, sheriff's officials said."

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/hazmat-investigators-respond-to-fatal-overdose-at-downtown-la-jail-others-being-treated/?sfnsn=mo&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2jbrj3JPTuUxRR7YNv-eaBBFW3bMEkYFNXiVD7dkrUewSyxnPpj8J2yVY_aem_fVo0ZtQZOcAsc45Wour2Fg

A suspected drug overdose at a downtown Los Angeles jail left one man dead and another six hospitalized while hazardous materials investigators were called in to decontaminate the area Tuesday morning.

09/09/2024

Too many people have had misplaced hope in Be Well. Without housing, no outreach, no mental health care is going to change homelessness. And yet the county is still investing in a (supposed) South campus in Irvine.

Officials in Anaheim and Newport Beach were already raising questions about just how effective Be Well OC was – with the coastal town deciding not to re-enter a contract with the mental health services provider last month.

07/29/2024

Homelessness in OC. Unbelievable stories NOT uncommon at all. If there aren't resources for these folks, do you think there are for young single adults?

This is from a group where case managers look to each other for help finding resources. This is from an office that works specifically with this population...looking for resources.

"Does anyone know of any churches or organizations that provide housing and transportation assistance? I have two elder parents with their two disabled adult children. They were recently evicted from their apartment and are staying in a hotel. They do not have reliable transportation. The husband is in a wheelchair due to recent stroke."

(Photo of senior dog, just to improve the post visibility.)

07/26/2024

“The fact remains that we do not have housing or housing assistance, nor even shelters, for literally thousands of Orange County residents who want help, have sought help, and who are just waiting for help.”

Following a Supreme Court ruling last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging local leaders to crackdown on homeless encampments across the state.

07/20/2024

Tiny homes may be a popular concept among trendsetters and philanthropists, yet experts agree they are a short-term solution to the country’s homelessness crisis.

“I would say that tiny homes are an absolutely important part of the ecosystem, but they are not housing,” said Margot Kushel, director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.

While we support all efforts to address the housing crisis, we're hopeful for more permanent solutions to emerge to . Dive into the article to learn more and share your thoughts! 🌟

Read here: https://bit.ly/4cZic5M

07/06/2024

STOP THE SWEEPS!

07/02/2024

https://laist.com/brief/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-homeless-count-2024-inflow-eviction-housing-rents-lahsa-prevention

06/21/2024

This is how we do it.

06/13/2024

OC residents are calling on county supervisors to prioritize housing and create greater accessibility around the budget process.